Tag Archives: Spotlight On

Ever been searching for something good to read, but don’t know have a specific book in mind?

There are lots of ways you can find new books to read, but it’s not always easy to remember all the resources available to you! So today we’re doing a spotlight on one library resource you can use at the library or at home, to help you find that next perfect read.

Novelist

Novelist is an online database where you can find information about books, whether they be teen books, children’s books, or adult reads. You can access the database from our website, by clicking on Online Resources -> Research Tools -> Databases by Title -> “N” for Novelist. Or, you can skip to the last page by clicking here.

This is what the home page of Novelist looks like.

There are tons of ways you can use this database…you can search by title, author, or description. You can see what some of the current bestselling books are for all ages. You can even follow a tutorial if you’re not sure how to get started. But today we’re just going to pinpoint one cool feature about Novelist: The Recommended Reads List.

Here’s a close up of the reads list.

It’s on the front page of Novelist, so it’s really easy to find. And you can use it to search for books in any genre! For example, if I wanted to find a teen-geared romance novel, all I’d have to do is click “Teen” and “Romance”, and it’ll give me some choices.

Then, once I’ve chosen what kind of romance I’m looking for, it’ll bring me to a page like this:

You can see a list of recommended titles, all with publication dates, reviews, cover images, and a quick summary of what the book’s about!

Novelist and other resources are always available for you to use with your WCL library card. Check them out next time you’re in search of a great read!

The June Summer Blog Giveaway is officially over! Stay tuned for the winner, and for July’s giveaway to begin soon.

And in the meantime, we are doing a Blogger Spotlight!

Blogs are a fantastic way to keep track of news and trends in the world of books. There are some awesome blogs out there dedicated to YA materials, and today we’re going to spotlight an awesome blog that’s everything YA.

Fiction Freak is a blog all about YA books. Here are some of things covered in this blog:

Reviews – Reviews of YA books are posted all the time, and these reviews cover many different aspects of the books, including information about the book’s genre, page count, and whether it is (or will be) part of a series.

Cover Reveals – A cover reveal is when the cover for an upcoming book is shown for the first time ever. It’s pretty awesome to catch the very first glimpse of books that haven’t even been released yet, especially when they are part of a series! Fiction Freak participates in many cover reveals – some of the latest new covers include The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett, and Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans.

Author Interviews – Fiction Freak hosts a number of author interviews, where YA authors come to talk about books, writing, and more! Author interviews are great for getting to know YA authors, and for learning about new books.

Giveaways – Fiction Freak is a US based blog, so many of the giveaways on this website are for those living in the US only. However, sometimes Fiction Freak will giveaway books internationally, so there’s always the possibility that you could win a prize pack or a book of your own!

And the coolest thing about Fiction Freak? Its host, Nikki Wang, is a teenager! What better way to hear awesome YA news than from a teen herself?